


And now my life has changed in oh so many ways

by shedrovemehere



Series: Help me get my feet back on the ground [2]
Category: Professional Wrestling, 新日本プロレス | New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Twins, Anyway:, Fluff, Gen, it still creeps me out that that's a tag and that I'm contributing to it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-28 10:38:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14447508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shedrovemehere/pseuds/shedrovemehere
Summary: Kenny and Kota won their match last night, and all they want to do is stay in bed all morning, which involves creative parenting, and dubiously responsible cat ownership. Nothing really happens but it's a lot of extremely cute nothing.





	And now my life has changed in oh so many ways

**Author's Note:**

> The opening lines are better if you know that "Hana" means "flower."
> 
> I feel like since the Golden Lovers are a couple in kayfabe, it only makes sense that their kids would be part of their victory celebration. I know kids and families are normally kept out of spotlights, but IMO if your gimmick is that you're a couple, having kids makes sense as part of it.
> 
> Also, if you don't know, Kota has a deep history with his one true love, fireworks. If you weren't aware, you're in for a treat, just a google away.
> 
> Also also, the cats have appeared in other Golden Lovers fics I've written and some that one of my tumblr colleagues has written, as well. Their names are Hoshi (star) and Tsuki (moon); Hoshi was Kota's cat first and Tsuki was a later joint acquisition (that Kenny pressured Kota into, and by 'pressured into' I mean 'made him hold a kitten'. Seriously, this all happened in fic I wrote.). I kinda feel like the real-life Golden Lovers would appreciate this level of extra-ness and attention to continuity. I hope.

 

 

 

* * *

 

“…Because _bees_ ” Kenny motioned with pinched together fingers “love flowers, because they’re so sweet! _Bzz bzz bzz..._ ” He formed finger-bees with both hands and made them land all over Hana until her face was red with giggles.

As much as Hana tried their patience, Kenny and Kota became more and more enchanted by her independence and fierce affection every single day. She had _actually_ earned the nickname _hanabi_ because “firecracker” was sometimes the best word to describe her difficult, contrary, and joyous personality. But Kenny wasn’t about to tell her that, because even if they weren’t sleeping or even resting, they were still in bed, and it was almost 10 am. Kenny wanted to hold onto this blissful moment as long as possible, not because of the warm sweetness of cuddling in bed with the kids and cats while snow fell outside, but because he was fucking _tired._

“‘Hanabi’ is ‘fireworks’ in English,” Kou said sagely, piping up from Kota’s lap, momentarily distracted from the book they’d been reading. They spoke both English and Japanese with the kids, which meant Kota’s English was finally getting better. The twins still far surpassed him, and Kenny would never get tired of watching normally-hyper-competitive Kota react to someone being more skillful at something than he was with a radiant smile of pride and admiration, as he was doing presently. Kenny hadn’t known until that moment that _Kota_ knew the English word ‘fireworks', _but of course you do._

“Very good!” Kota beamed, and snuggled Kou in an aggressively silly manner, apparently having not received the unspoken memo to keep the kids calm so they could stay in bed longer. Hoshi got up in a huff, but instead of leaving, simply repositioned herself further away from Kou’s kicking feet, wrapping her tail around her paws angrily.

_See, Papa, *she* gets it._ “That’s right, Kouichi-sensei,” Kenny said, as Kou giggled at the nickname he received whenever he was too smart for his own good, “your sister is secretly named after the thing Papa loves most in the whole world.”

Kota shot Kenny a glare, and Kenny knew he deserved it—the kids weren’t exactly in the right mindset to hear tales of Kota’s adventures in creative fireworks usage, nor were they old enough to know that kind of gleeful irresponsibility even _existed,_ let alone that their attentive, seemingly-tireless Papa was among the world’s most gloriously reckless human beings. But the kids didn’t get the joke and were unfazed, both blessedly returning to their books, so Kenny just grinned and held up his fingers in the shape of a heart. Kota, better at remaining straight-faced (when he wanted to) than anyone Kenny had ever known, just grimly pointed at him in a _don’t-let-it-happen-again_ sort of way.

“I love you too,” Kenny said, and Hana tugged at his wrist, evidently bored of someone besides her receiving his attention. “Oh!” Kenny said in faux-surprise. “Hana! I forgot you were here!” Hana giggled, and Kou corrected, “Hana- _bi_ ,” leaning over from Kota’s lap to mimic Kenny’s finger-bees from before, landing them on Hana’s arms, which she stretched out for easier bee-access. Sitting in bed with wiggly children wasn’t exactly relaxing, but it was fun in a way that made up for the exhaustion. Kenny quietly marveled at the kids' understanding a bad bilingual pun; it squeezed his heart how smart they were, how open to learning.

Tsuki appeared in the doorway then, meowing insistently and loudly. “Did you feed them last night?” Kenny asked Kota, silently cursing the traitor Tsuki, who was about to force him to get out of bed, his victories over his children’s wild energy rendered utterly meaningless.

“No,” Kota sighed, clearly having similar thoughts. “I was so tired when we got home.”

Last night had been the first time Hana and Kou had been there in person to watch their dads wrestle. They had front-row seats, and Kota’s mom had dressed them in matching Golden Lovers t-shirts. To Kenny, they were the world’s best good luck charm—there was _no way_ he was going to lose in front of his kids; ever since they were very small he'd had dreams of victoriously draping big belts over their tiny shoulders. Meanwhile, Kota had been nervous the whole time about how they’d feel seeing their dads hurt people, and more than once Kenny had to take a moment during a tag to tell him it would be ok. In the end, Kenny's dream came true, and as soon as they’d gotten their belts, they hurried out of the ring to the front row and hoisted the twins into victory hugs. Hana threw her arms around Kenny’s neck and kissed him on the cheek over and over again, surprisingly unbothered by how sweat-soaked he was. Kota, wiping away tears, gave his belt to Kou to hold. Kou in Kota’s arms, little legs dangling, hugging the belt as tightly as he could just to keep from dropping it was probably the single most perfectly happy thing Kenny could ever remember witnessing.

They hadn’t celebrated the victory the way they used to, although as they fell asleep they’d promised each other, in terms that made Kenny shiver now to think of them, that they _would_ as soon as they got a chance. Instead, they came home and wrangled the children into bed, made extra-difficult by how tired they were and how amped the twins were from all the excitement. Kenny made a mental note to have them stay with his or Kota’s parents next time, for more than one reason. Kou and Hana actually  _were_ making an effort to behave, and just not able to contain themselves, so the compromise had been allowing the cats to sleep in the kids’ room as a way of bribing the kids to stay in bed. And apparently, feeding Hoshi and Tsuki had slipped both Kota’s and Kenny's minds.

“I’ll do it!” Kou said, wriggling out of Kota’s arms. Kenny and Kota exchanged a concerned glance; Kou had never fed the cats unassisted before, but… bed. “You are both very tired,” Kou said, holding his hands in front of him, motioning for them to stay put, and now they were concerned _and_ confused. Still, neither of them said anything as Kou found his way to the floor and purposefully headed to the kitchen with Tsuki following at his heels. Hoshi, content to let Tsuki do the heavy lifting of begging for food, found the strength to get off the bed and join them now that food was happening.

From the kitchen, they could hear the scraping sound of a chair being dragged across the floor, likely so Kou could reach the cat food in the cabinet. “It’s probably fine,” Kenny said, not even bothering to pretend he believed it.

Hana quickly realized she could now have both her parents’ attention, and slithered from Kenny’s lap to Kota’s, sprawling between the two of them, head on Kota’s thigh and legs draped over Kenny’s. “Hana-chan-a,” Kota said, gently moving strands of hair off her face, “did you have fun last night?”

Before she could answer, from the kitchen came a loud bump and the unmistakeable sound of hundreds of pieces of kibble hitting the floor. Kenny and Kota simultaneously started digging themselves out of the blankets and pillows, worried Kou was hurt, but Kou almost immediately yelled, “everything is fine!” They looked at each other for a moment, and Kota said, flat-voiced, “see, Kenny, everything is fine.”

“It does sound fine in there,” Kenny laughed, at this point not disappointed that he’d have to finally get out of bed. He picked Hana up and gently plunked her onto an unoccupied corner of the bed so he could move.

Then Kou ran into the room, looking as casual as he could muster after moving at top speed. “Hana, can you help me feed Hoshi and Tsuki? _Please.”_ The _please_ was said with a teeth-clenched urgency that made Hana obediently jump out of bed and pad her way over to Kou. “You stay there,” Kou motioned again to Kenny and Kota. Kou put his arms around Hana’s shoulders and whispered something in her ear as she leaned her head on his affectionately—he was really the only one who could get a squirm-free snuggle out of his sister. “Everything is okay, I just want some help,” Kou told them seriously, as if they hadn’t all heard what must have been half a bag of cat food being dumped onto the floor.

Hana nodded solemnly, and turned to address her parents. “You should stay in bed, you are both so tired. I’m going to help Kou feed the cats.” They quickly left together for the kitchen.

Kenny and Kota blinked at each other. “Sounds like they’re cooperating,” Kota said. “We should encourage it, right?”

From the sounds of it, Kou was marshaling Hana to find the broom while he scooped up handfuls of cat food and dumped them into what was hopefully the garbage and not the recycling.

“Well, even if it’s not in their bowl, the cats have definitely _technically_ been fed,” Kenny offered. They listened to the noise from the kitchen; Hana had possibly found a broom and was singing (quietly, but Hana-quiet) an improvised song about sweeping, apparently having forgotten that they were "feeding the cats," a task which does not require a broom. Kou first shushed, but Hana's enthusiasm quickly seemed to win him over, and he joined her, softly of course. Sometimes they were frighteningly in sync; Kenny often thought of the twins when people would tell Kota and him that _they_ were in sync. _Wait until you see two people throw a tantrum in perfect unison._ He grabbed Kota’s hand. “That mess will still very much be there in five minutes,” he said, and leaned in for a kiss, the sweet and slow kind that made everything else, even quiet-but-still-quite-audible songs about dustpans, melt away momentarily.

Astoundingly, the kids seemed to be quietly cleaning up the cat food mess, though Kenny was sure there would be missed details. Twins temporarily occupied, Kenny joined Kota leaning back against the headboard. He laid his head on Kota’s shoulder, and Kota put an arm around him, tangling his fingers in Kenny’s curls. The calm of kids and cats being busy elsewhere and the white snowy winter light filtering in from the window was soothing and unexpectedly emotional; triggering a moment of clarity where Kenny took full stock of how good his life was right now, breathtakingly beautiful and fulfilling. He squeezed Kota’s hand fervently, and Kota squeezed back, seemingly aware of the same quiet joy of the present.

Kenny’s phone buzzed on the bedside table. He glanced over at it, and was filled with a sickening, stomach-dropping dread. “Oh no.”

Kota sighed disinterestedly. “What.” He was still staring dreamily out the window.

“Matt sent a video. Apparently Tokyo Sports interviewed some young fans after last night’s match.” Kenny almost didn’t want to see it.

“Oh no,” Kota said, understanding immediately and snapping to attention, eyes wide with the terror of what they could be about to see. He put an arm around Kenny’s waist to watch the video with him.

On the screen, of course, were their children, still bouncy with excited energy after their parents had left the arena. “Your parents won the match! What was your favorite part of the show?” the interviewer asked, and Hana grabbed his wrist, bringing his tape recorder up to her mouth.

“Bachan took us to meet Tanahashi-san,” she said, eyes practically cartoon hearts, swooning at the memory. “He gave me a hug and let me touch his muscles!”

Kota did that ridiculous, crinkled-nose laugh that used to be reserved only for Kenny, but could now be elicited easily by either one of their children. Kenny didn’t mind sharing it at all, especially because it meant he got to see it more often. “I guess we have to work on our muscles if we want to be on her radar.”

“Seems we forgot to tell bachan not to let them talk to the press.” Kenny said, pausing the video. “ _Your_ daughter’s priorities… I am offended!” he added dramatically, trying to hide that he was actually a tiny bit earnestly disappointed that Hana didn’t mention their match.

Kota squeezed his hand sympathetically. “I’d say her priorities are sound. Tanahashi hugged me once. I’d tell Tokyo Sports about it, too.”

Kenny feigned outrage. “You too? The betrayal, Ibutan!"

Kota raised an eyebrow. “Oh, so _you’re_ the only person in the world who’s immune to Tanahashi’s muscles.” Still laughing, he leaned his head on Kenny’s temple, then kissed Kenny’s bare shoulder and laid his head there.

Kenny’s smile almost hurt his face. “I’m just jealous that you two got hugs,” he said in a small pouty voice.

“Uh-huh,” Kota said knowingly, and un-paused the video.

The interviewer, trying to maintain Serious Journalist Face after Hana’s analysis, turned his attention to Kouichi. “What did you think about the Golden Lovers?” Kenny felt his stomach knot. _Oh god._

Kou was notoriously shy around strangers, so Kenny wondered whether he’d say anything at all. But of course, he wasn’t shy this time. “Well,” Kou began, “I liked when they did moonsaults together, because they never do that at home.” Kenny’s head went to his hands. “They jumped a lot, actually. I didn’t like it when the men hit them in the face. The match was too long.” Hana nodded in agreement. Kota’s mother, behind the kids, was visibly unable to contain her laughter. “I think they must be very very tired,” Kou continued, “and they will probably need to rest a lot in bed.” He paused thoughtfully. “Overall, I’m glad they won.” To their great relief, that was the end of the video.

Kenny and Kota simultaneously mimicked Kou saying “overall” like he was a professor or sports commentator, then simultaneously rubbed their faces in disbelief.

“That could have gone a lot worse,” Kota offered.

“At least our children are honest,” Kenny chuckled, then added, “when they talk to reporters, at least. Not about spilling cat food.”

“They are _terrible_ liars, like their Daddy,” Kota said, with a kiss on the cheek clearly meant to keep Kenny from arguing too much.

“Not true. I’m only bad at lying to you… and about you… and if you’re in the room,” Kenny had started the sentence seriously, but ended it laughing at himself.

Kota smiled wickedly. “I believe you, Kenny,” he said in his most patronizing voice. Kenny made a chagrined face, which at least earned him another kiss on the cheek.

Hana and Kou came back into the room, then, looking accomplished. “All done!” Kou said cheerily. He went straight for Kenny, almost definitely knowing that he could delay the inevitable discovery of cat food under the fridge and table—and who knows where else—if he laid his little head on Kenny’s chest and snuggled up to him under the covers. He was correct, of course.

“Thanks for feeding the cats, guys,” Kota said as Hana similarly snuggled up to him, likely for the same reason, and definitely with the same result.

“You’re welcome,” Hana said earnestly, and popped a thumb in her mouth, tugging gently at Kota’s hair with her other hand.

“So we saw that you two were interviewed on the news.” Kenny was dying to hear what they had to say about it.

“Yeah,” Kou said matter-of-factly, “don’t worry, we told the truth.”

“You did,” Kota said. “It’s true that we _are_ very tired today.” Kenny mentally high-fived Kota for simultaneously praising them and reminding them how tired their dads were.

“I know! That’s why we took care of Hoshi and Tsuki." Kou said, then quickly and deftly changed the subject. "Can we see the video?”

The snow falling outside added a lazy, quiet cast to the light in the room. They watched the video four more times; Hana was asleep before play number three, and Kou didn’t quite make it through four. Their dads agreed that, in terms of the weekend’s proudest achievements, the belts they’d won the night before were a very distant second, after staying in bed past 11am while their children almost-cleaned the kitchen, unasked.


End file.
